A satisfying, action-packed story of survival and hope.
Jon, Korka, and Aron Gunnarsson find their world collapsing when their parents are killed in an avalanche. Can they rise above this catastrophic event?
Their Icelandic immigrant parents were wilderness survival experts, and the deadly accident should have been avoidable. The siblings can only surmise that their parents were distracted by their mounting financial problems. Now Children’s Services needs to find them a guardian or place them in the foster care system. The siblings worry that 11-year-old Aron—selectively mute, quirky, imaginative—might be put in a special home. Jon can’t prevent this unless he can keep Aron, middle sibling Korka, and himself safely hidden in the Canadian Rockies for nearly three months until he turns 18 and can be named their legal guardian. The deadly challenges mount—snow, cold, blisters, fever, and sprains—lending a stomach-clenching tension to the tale. Worse, they are in danger of starving. The grieving threesome draw on every skill they have absorbed from their parents, but the hardest challenge may be learning to work together as a team. Their distinct personalities, conflicts, and complex history are well drawn, adding drama and depth. An encounter with another runaway helps give them perspective. Just as it seems they may achieve their goal, another near disaster hits. This time they are completely united, proving they are survivors who can get through anything together.
A satisfying, action-packed story of survival and hope. (Adventure. 12-17)Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4597-4831-6
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Dundurn
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
Entertaining; a drama-filled ode to family against a well-developed Seoul backdrop.
Suddenly relocated against her will from New York to Seoul, Melody finds it hard to adjust.
Sixteen-year-old Melody Lee loves living with her mom in their cozy New York City apartment, spending time with her best friend, and working toward an interior design internship. Her father visits occasionally from Korea, where he lives and works; Melody’s parents wanted her to get a U.S. education. But when she’s caught trying weed, her mother moves them to Seoul, someplace Melody has only visited once. When her father turns out to live in a luxury villa and have a personal driver and sends Melody to a fancy international school, she rejects his lavish lifestyle while harboring resentment and anger. Still, as her new friends and crush show her around Seoul, Melody finds herself enjoying the food, nightlife, history, and culture. But her parents are fighting, her mom is keeping secrets, her relationship with her father is nonexistent, and her mom thinks interior design is not a viable career. Melody tries to balance who she is inside with her new lifestyle. This romantic comedy also focuses on friendships and family relationships as it shows the impact of wealthy parents’ focus on their children’s success and the toll of not being accepted for who you are before coming to a heartwarming conclusion. Romanized Korean is woven throughout, and fascinating details highlight many beautiful and charming parts of Seoul.
Entertaining; a drama-filled ode to family against a well-developed Seoul backdrop. (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-40319-8
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An emotionally engaging and draining debut.
Two teenagers suffer through their first heartbreak.
Henry Page has spent his high school years with his nose to the grindstone, avoiding romantic relationships and focusing on becoming the editor of the school paper. At the start of his senior year Henry is offered the job, but there’s a catch: transfer student Grace Town is offered the gig as well, making the two white teens co-editors. Sparks fly as Henry works with the aloof, unkempt new girl, who walks with a cane. As Henry and Grace grow closer, Henry falls deeper for her even as he learns just how broken she is. In her debut, Sutherland mixes her love story with equal parts hope and ominous dread. There is never any doubt that this couple is marching toward romantic oblivion, but it’s an effectively drawn journey. The characters speak with a John Green–esque voice, but they are never overbearingly precocious. Narrator Henry’s a smartly rendered character, a decent kid who has goals and works hard to achieve them. His new goal is Grace’s affection, and the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object that is Grace’s emotional unavailability provides the novel some of its sharpest moments. When the walls tumble down, the connection between the two is clearly an unhealthy one, and the author pulls no punches, devastating Henry, Grace, and readers in equal measure.
An emotionally engaging and draining debut. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-54656-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK TO SCREEN
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